Vaerun the Disgraced
Early Years Vaerun was once a heroic leader of a band of adventurers, more than half a millennium before King Cosnium solidified the country. No record stands of this time in his life save his memories and personal collections despite the fact that at the time he was well renowned and served humanity rich and poor, weak and powerful. Any cry for help was answered swiftly by Vaerun and his four friends. He began as a grocer in his father's shop but during his teenage years was given an old sword by his father, who had obtained it as payment from an ex-guard who no longer needed it. Vaerun trained himself in his spare time before setting out to tackle the threats of the world. At times he upgraded his weapon, but never forsook the original and continued to use it until his death. The sword was eventually named Darkbreaker as it became common knowledge that Vaerun's blade would often be a sliver of light in a dark situation. Darkbreaker was the weapon that killed the Lich before Vaerun, and eventually became Vaerun's phylactery. Vaerun fought with a single-handed style, and left his off-hand open for versatility. Where others would be hampered by a shield, Vaerun moved deftly while holding torches, enemies, or magical artefacts. His friends complemented his style with magic and bow but they too relied on Vaerun as the sole frontliner in their group. Together they slayed the Lich of the time, but were unaware of the Lich's Curse. The Lich's Curse The Lich's Curse is not a curse of magic, able to be identified and dispelled but rather a curse of destiny, manifesting itself naturally despite efforts to oppose it. Due to the long lifespan of a Lich common records do not betray the dark secret however there are beings aware of the great cost of defeating a Lich; 'anyone who kills a Lich will himself become a Lich'. After defeating the Lich, Vaerun decided to study the process of becoming one in order to use its power for Good. His wizard friend helped him study the dark magic involved neither of them realising that the process of undeath corrupts your soul. They were successful, and bound Darkbreaker as Vaerun's phylactery as his flesh tightened and decayed. Vaerun was now a Lich. Undeath Vaerun felt the whispers of the grave as soon as he promised himself to undeath and became uneasy, almost regretting his actions immediately. He continued to fight against Evil using a new sword (his old sword now being his phylactery was locked away), both outside and within himself but eventually failed to keep his demons in check and had a falling out with his adventuring group. He continued on as a mercenary but it was too late and he had lost himself. Instead of fighting for what's right, he slipped into fighting for coin, and eventually fighting for his own purposes. Eventually his old friends confronted him but it was Vaerun who defeated them. It was at this point that his descent into Evil was complete as he has never felt remorse for this action nor sadness for those he once called friends, only contempt for the ones who 'betrayed' him. Growing bored with swordplay, he began the study of magic and became far more powerful as a magic wielding undead abomination, and amassed territory as he did power. His only obstacle was the overlord of the country, [[King Mitrell the Wraithlike]]. After using clever tactics similar to those that made him such a talented martial combatant he used his magic to seal Mitrell's soul in a gem with the release set to his (Vaerun's) death, allowing Vaerun to control the country without fear of celestial retaliation as even the gods struggled to deal with Mitrell the Wraithlike. Vaerun then quickly became the overlord of the country himself. Reign Current